# I-4 Rental Truth

> What a Central Florida rental really costs to hold. Free, cited briefing for people who hold rental housing on Florida’s I-4 corridor (Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, plus Lake and Brevard). Not tax, legal, insurance, or investment advice.

Key figures (do not treat millage-backfill as a forecast):

- Rentals do **not** receive Amendment 3’s $150,000 / $250,000 homestead exemption. Source: https://www.pcpao.gov/amendment3
- If local governments raise millage to replace lost revenue: statewide residential rental property taxes **+14.1%** in 2028 (~**+22.6%** non-school); average SFR rental **+$1,081** (14.6%); average apartment unit **+$406** (14.8%). Source: https://walczakpolicy.com/pubs/florida-amendment-3.pdf Table 2.
- Ballot: November 3, 2026, 60% required; effective January 1, 2027 if it passes. Source: PCPAO / Florida Division of Elections.
- Figures retrieved 2026-10-18; site content updated 2026-10-19.

## Pages

- [Home](https://i4rentaltruth.com/): Holding-cost briefing and county millage cards
- [Amendment 3 for rental owners](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3): What CS/HJR 1F does; statewide and I-4 Table 4/5 figures
- [Amendment 3 FAQ](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/faq): Homestead vs rental, 10% cap, purchase reset, timing
- [Amendment 3 in Hillsborough](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/hillsborough): Table 4 SFR $1,114 (19%)
- [Amendment 3 in Pinellas](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/pinellas): Table 4 SFR $1,350 (18%)
- [Amendment 3 in Polk](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/polk): Table 4 SFR $876 (21%)
- [Amendment 3 in Osceola](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/osceola): Table 4 SFR $1,319 (19%)
- [Amendment 3 in Orange](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/orange): Table 4 SFR $780 (11%)
- [Amendment 3 in Seminole](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/seminole): Table 4 SFR $1,196 (23%)
- [Amendment 3 in Volusia](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/volusia): Table 4 SFR $1,444 (26%)
- [Amendment 3 in Lake](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/lake): Table 4 SFR $1,476 (27%)
- [Amendment 3 in Brevard](https://i4rentaltruth.com/amendment-3/brevard): Table 4 SFR $944 (24%)
- [Holding-cost calculator](https://i4rentaltruth.com/calculator): Cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash, post-purchase tax from millage
- [County index](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties): 2025 millage and OIR homeowners-with-wind averages
- [Hillsborough County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/hillsborough): 18.2515 mills example; OIR HO $3,514
- [Pinellas County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/pinellas): 15.3229 mills example; OIR HO $4,044
- [Polk County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/polk): 12.9291 mills example; OIR HO $2,771
- [Osceola County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/osceola): 13.8543 mills example; OIR HO $2,911
- [Orange County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/orange): 16.1366 mills example; OIR HO $3,585
- [Seminole County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/seminole): 13.6790 mills example; OIR HO $3,527
- [Volusia County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/volusia): 17.3640 mills example; OIR HO $2,819
- [Lake County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/lake): 13.4482 mills example; OIR HO $2,642
- [Brevard County rental holding costs](https://i4rentaltruth.com/counties/brevard): 12.3894 mills example; OIR HO $3,560
- [City index](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities): Walczak Table 5 municipalities
- [Tampa rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/tampa): SFR $1,329 (17.82%)
- [St. Petersburg rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/st-petersburg): SFR $1,282 (18.45%)
- [Orlando rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/orlando): SFR $936 (10.84%)
- [Winter Park rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/winter-park): SFR $1,572 (11.05%)
- [Lakeland rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/lakeland): SFR $820 (20.24%)
- [Bartow rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/bartow): SFR $908 (24.85%)
- [St. Cloud rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/st-cloud): SFR $1,979 (29.82%)
- [Oviedo rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/oviedo): SFR $2,214 (29.78%)
- [Sanford rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/sanford): SFR $1,106 (20.75%)
- [Palm Bay rental tax and Amendment 3](https://i4rentaltruth.com/cities/palm-bay): SFR $1,412 (31.19%)
- [Florida rental property tax](https://i4rentaltruth.com/florida-rental-property-tax): No homestead, purchase reset, 10% cap, millage formula
- [Insurance](https://i4rentaltruth.com/insurance): OIR homeowners-with-wind county averages; not DP-3
- [Methodology and sources](https://i4rentaltruth.com/methodology): Citations, calculator formulas, data files, gaps
- [Newsletter placeholder](https://i4rentaltruth.com/newsletter): TODO: not wired to a provider

## Machine-readable data

- https://i4rentaltruth.com/data/counties.json
- https://i4rentaltruth.com/data/amendment3.json
- https://i4rentaltruth.com/data/millage.csv
- https://i4rentaltruth.com/llms-full.txt

## Optional

- Full source dump: https://i4rentaltruth.com/llms-full.txt

## Walczak Table 4 (I-4 counties, 2028, revenue-neutral millage increase)
County | Apt $ | Apt % | SFR $ | SFR %
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Hillsborough County | 560 | 19 | 1114 | 19
Pinellas County | 549 | 19 | 1350 | 18
Polk County | 365 | 19 | 876 | 21
Osceola County | 394 | 17 | 1319 | 19
Orange County | 307 | 11 | 780 | 11
Seminole County | 567 | 23 | 1196 | 23
Volusia County | 497 | 25 | 1444 | 26
Lake County | 465 | 28 | 1476 | 27
Brevard County | 341 | 21 | 944 | 24

## Walczak Table 5 (selected cities)
City | County | Apt $ | Apt % | SFR $ | SFR %
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Tampa | hillsborough | 758 | 18.88 | 1329 | 17.82
St. Petersburg | pinellas | 651 | 19.9 | 1282 | 18.45
Orlando | orange | 358 | 11.84 | 936 | 10.84
Winter Park | orange | 368 | 11.88 | 1572 | 11.05
Lakeland | polk | 381 | 18.38 | 820 | 20.24
Bartow | polk | 358 | 22.62 | 908 | 24.85
St. Cloud | osceola | 488 | 25.92 | 1979 | 29.82
Oviedo | seminole | 1070 | 29.64 | 2214 | 29.78
Sanford | seminole | 502 | 21.68 | 1106 | 20.75
Palm Bay | brevard | 499 | 27.3 | 1412 | 31.19

Lake County and Volusia County have no municipality in Table 5.

## 2025 example millage and OIR homeowners-with-wind (not DP-3)
County | Example mills | Label | OIR HO with wind | OIR condo with wind
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Hillsborough | 18.2515 | Unincorporated Hillsborough County (tax district U) | 3514 | 1344
Pinellas | 15.3229 | County & MSTU (millage code AA) | 4044 | 1381
Polk | 12.9291 | Unincorporated Polk County, SWFWMD tax code 90 | 2771 | 1151
Osceola | 13.8543 | Unincorporated Osceola County (mill code 300) | 2911 | 1278
Orange | 16.1366 | Unincorporated Orange County, mill code 10 | 3585 | 1285
Seminole | 13.6790 | Seminole County unincorporated (taxing authority 01,02) | 3527 | 1196
Volusia | 17.3640 | Unincorporated Volusia County — Westside (millage code 100) | 2819 | 1171
Lake | 13.4482 | Unincorporated Lake County, tax group 0001 | 2642 | 1102
Brevard | 12.3894 | First published millage-code total on the 2025 Brevard millage sheet (TOTALS row, first column) | 3560 | 1445

OIR as of 2025-09-30. https://www.floir.gov/docs-sf/default-source/property-and-casualty/stability-unit-reports/january-2026-isu-report-final.pdf

## FAQ (plain text)

Q: What is Florida Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot?
A: Amendment 3 (CS/HJR 1F) would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 beginning January 1, 2027 and $250,000 beginning January 1, 2028 (then CPI), keep a $25,000 school homestead exemption, and lower the non-homestead assessment cap from 10% to 5% for non-school taxes. It needs 60% of votes on November 3, 2026. Source: Pinellas County Property Appraiser Amendment 3 FAQs and the Florida Division of Elections ballot summary.

Q: Does Amendment 3 give rental properties a larger homestead exemption?
A: No. Homestead is for a permanent resident’s primary home. Rentals, second homes, and commercial property do not receive the $150,000 / $250,000 figures. Source: PCPAO Amendment 3 FAQs, which list rental property as a non-homestead example.

Q: How much could Amendment 3 raise taxes on a Florida rental?
A: Walczak estimates that if local governments raise millage to replace lost revenue, residential rental property taxes would rise 14.1% in 2028 (about 22.6% on the non-school portion): +$1,081 on the average single-family rental and +$406 on the average apartment unit. That is a revenue-neutral millage model, not a forecast that every county will raise rates. Source: Jared Walczak, Amendment 3 Could Shift Tax Burdens to Renters (September 2026), Table 2.

Q: What happens to the 10% non-homestead cap?
A: The annual assessment cap on non-homestead property would fall from 10% to 5% for non-school assessed value. School taxes on non-homestead property remain based on just/market value. Current law is Fla. Stat. § 193.1554 / § 193.1555 (10% cap). Amendment 3’s 5% change is from PCPAO.

Q: Does a lower assessment cap mean my rental tax bill goes down?
A: Not by itself. PCPAO says a lower cap “may slow future assessed value growth” and does not mean lower tax bills if millage rises. Walczak’s rental-tax increases assume localities raise millage to replace homestead revenue, limited by 10-mill caps.

Q: When would Amendment 3 take effect if it passes?
A: January 1, 2027. PCPAO: first TRIM notices August 2027; tax bills November 2027. Walczak’s fully phased homestead year in the backfill tables is tax year 2028.

Q: Do I keep the previous owner’s Save Our Homes or 10% cap when I buy a rental?
A: No. After a change of ownership, Florida law requires assessment at just (market) value as of January 1 of the following year. Homestead Save Our Homes (Fla. Stat. § 193.155) does not apply to rentals. The non-homestead cap limits future annual increases, not the purchase-year reset (Fla. Stat. § 193.1554(5)). Lee County Property Appraiser’s 10% assessment FAQ states the prior owner’s limitation does not carry over.

Q: Are school taxes reduced by Amendment 3?
A: No. Only the first $25,000 of a homestead stays exempt from school millages. Rentals have no homestead, so they pay school millage on just value. That is why Walczak can report +14.1% total next to +22.6% non-school. Source: PCPAO and Walczak Table 2 note.

Q: What millage should I use to estimate tax after I buy a Central Florida rental?
A: Use the total millage on the TRIM notice for that tax code, not a county average. This site publishes one cited example total per I-4 county for tax year 2025 (property appraiser or tax collector sheet) plus the county BCC operating millage from Florida DOR MillCapComp25. Override the calculator millage field.

Q: Is the Florida OIR homeowners average the same as landlord insurance?
A: No. OIR publishes county average homeowners and condo-unit-owner premiums including wind. Those are not DP-3 / dwelling-fire landlord averages. This site could not find an official OIR landlord-policy county average, so the calculator uses the homeowners-with-wind figure only as a labeled placeholder you should replace with a quote.

Q: What if I rent out a house that currently has homestead?
A: Florida law treats rental of all or substantially all of a homestead as abandonment of that homestead (Fla. Stat. § 196.061), with limited exceptions. PCPAO lists rental property as non-homestead. Confirm with the county property appraiser; this site is not legal advice.

Q: Did Walczak publish Amendment 3 figures for every I-4 county?
A: Yes for the nine counties on this site: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Lake, and Brevard (Table 4). Table 5 cities include Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Winter Park, Lakeland, Bartow, St. Cloud, Oviedo, Sanford, and Palm Bay. Lake County and Volusia County have no city in Table 5; that gap is not filled with estimates.

## Statewide Table 2
Rental property tax +14.1% (non-school +22.6%). SFR +1081 (14.6%) in 2028, +1471 (15.4%) in 2031. Apt +406 (14.8%) / +554 (15.7%).
Walczak models a revenue-neutral millage increase (limited by the 10-mill county and municipal caps). Local governments could instead cut spending, raise other fees, or use a mix. These figures are not a forecast that every county will raise rates.
Sources: https://walczakpolicy.com/pubs/florida-amendment-3.pdf · https://www.pcpao.gov/amendment3